Chamber's Citizen of the Year 'a real dynamo'

Friday

Alice Fitzpatrick has had operations on her knees and hips, but the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut’s 63rd annual Citizen of the Year is ready to travel.

Alice Fitzpatrick has had operations on her knees and hips, but the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut’s 63rd annual Citizen of the Year is ready to travel.

Before the banquet in her honor at MGM Grand at Foxwoods on Thursday, which was attended by 500 people, Fitzpatrick reflected on her active life and the retirement she is planning.

“I spent time in Botswana and Prague, learning and being part of the cultures there,” said Fitzpatrick, who is president of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut. “I want to keep learning and growing.”

A Stonington resident, she said she will “never really leave” Eastern Connecticut.

“I came here and fell in love with the place,” said Fitzpatrick, who grew up in New Haven. “It’s a very embracing culture we have here.”

Friends, including past recipients of the Citizen of the Year award, praised Fitzpatrick as a creative thinker and energetic worker. Past recipients marched into the Premier Ballroom at MGM Grand and raised their champagne glasses in salute.

The Rev. David Cannon, of Preston, a former Citizen of the Year recipient, called Fitzpatrick “an eager person.”

“She knows how to follow as well as lead,” he said.

Last year’s recipient, Three Rivers Community College President Grace Jones, who is also retiring this year, called Fitzpatrick “a real dynamo.”

Alice Soscia of the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut recalled a recent collaboration between Fitzpatrick’s foundation and the United Way.

“She is truly a pleasure to work,” Soscia said.

Chamber President Tony Sheridan, who was the banquet’s master of ceremonies, praised the guest of honor as “a principled person who does what’s right for the community.”

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Chairman Rodney Butler called Fitzpatrick a “selfless” worker who “has changed many lives for the better.”

State and municipal leaders including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the chief elected officials of Franklin, Montville and Waterford sent proclamations honoring Fitzpatrick. Stonington leaders including First Selectman Ed Haberek Jr. declared Thursday “Alice Fitzpatrick Day” in the Borough of Stonington.

Fitzpatrick is retiring June 30 from the position she’s held since 1995.

The New London-based organization she heads was known as the Pequot Foundation when it was founded in 1982. It later became the Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut. In 2008, it merged with Windham County-based Community Foundation of the Tri-County Area. It now covers 42 towns.

The foundation’s assets have grown to $42 million last year from $7 million in 1995.

In 2012, the foundation distributed $3.2 million in grants to nonprofit organizations including Madonna Place and St. Vincent de Paul Place, both based in Norwich, and Safe Futures, a New London-based group that tries to reduce domestic violence whose prevention education is taught at Norwich’s Kelly Middle School.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.